thousands sent to the Soviet Union as stu
dents are some barely in their teens.
More candid than most officials I met,
Farid acknowledged problems in the Af
ghan Army-"there are soldiers running
from the armed forces." Mujahidin leaders
say desertion has halved the ranks.
At the Ministry of Mines and Industry
building I heard Abdul Salam read from a
text on the virtues of labor. He intoned: "We
are seeing the nations of the world going
ahead and ahead, going to the moon, going
to the deep seas. These are things we can ac
complish only with labor."
A small man, 56 years old, Abdul echoes
the boyhood of most older Afghans when he
says, "I had no opportunity to go to school."
In the room where he read, 50 other men
were being taught in literacy classes. Abdul
added dutifully: "I thank the revolutionary
government for teachers and books."
Not every government endeavor seems
wholly political. A United Nations consul
tant said he is impressed by Kabul's efforts
in public health. The regime knows it must
deliver services to win the people, he said,
"but I believe they are doing so not because
they have to, but because they want to."
I visited Ahmad Joyenda, who directs the
Afghan Institute of Archaeology. Afghan
istan abounds in sites of ancient dynas
ties: Greco-Bactrian, Kushan, Sassanian,
Hephthalite. "In the past, archaeological
work was largely done by foreigners," Mr.
Joyenda said. "But since the revolution we
have set out to be self-sufficient in explora
tion." These efforts are limited; most of the
nation is not under Kabul's control.
Moscow supplies Kabul with fuel, sugar,
and wheat, but goods from other nations are
plentiful in Kochai Mandayee, the "street
where you can buy anything." A lad of 12 of
fered toothpastes that I would find at home.
I looked at piles of suit coats. One bore the
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